Proceeds will go to the Freedom of the Press Foundation, a San Francisco-based non-profit that added Snowden - currently living in asylum in Russia - to its board of directors in January, ThatsMyFace.com said.

But in an email to AFP, the foundation's executive director Trevor Timm said the group - whose board also includes Daniel Ellsberg of Pentagon Papers fame - has never been contacted about the toy.

“It's not us selling the dolls, I'm actually not sure who is,” Timm said. “The first time I saw anything about it was when someone tweeted about it, and no one has contacted us about it since, to my knowledge.”

ThatsMyFace.com, whose catalogue of action figures also includes Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, did not immediately respond to a phone call and an email for comment.

But it noted on its website: “Disclaimer: Edward Snowden and Freedom of the Press Foundation does not sponsor, authorise or endorse this site or our Edward Snowden figure.”

Snowden's disclosures since June have revealed the NSA's vast electronic eavesdropping operations, sparking global outrage as well as warnings from US authorities that he could face espionage charges. - Sapa-AFP

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